Update on nesting birds

Catching up after a week away and I see our Oystercatchers have settled into Brian Bowes field, the chick is growing well. There is also a Curlew with a good sized chick in our neighbours field to the east side. There is still lots of best activity and checking Pow Wood today there is a Tree Creeper with 4 chicks and two Song Thrushes about to hatch, one is quite unusual as avid Facebook watchers will see when I post the picture. Sadly another brood of Great Tits were taken by a predator, which left the remains in box 34. Similarly the only brood of Willow Warblers I ringed seem to have had a predator at the nest, as there was a few flight feathers as the nest entrance, but hopefully some will have got away. I ringed a brood of 4 Swallows in the North Lagoon hut last Saturday but the nest on the west end of the Centre wall seems to have failed although the female is still sitting on 3 eggs, she had 3 eggs on 4^th and they should be well grown chicks now. Perhaps too exposed to the weather on that wall. The one in the Sand Martin building seems to have deserted 3 eggs too. I would encourage keen birders to look for Spotted Flycatchers they are around and the nest I found in Pow Wood might have actually fledged. Blackcaps and Garden Warblers will be into second broods now and possibly Sedge Warblers. Our Linnet numbers are well down and all four nests I have located have been taken by predators, suspect is Stoats we seem to have at least four active round the site around the Centre, in the Wetlands, in Pond and Pow Wood. Hope to start mist netting soon and that usually gives us some indication of nest success.

Frank Mawby